The Quarry

The Quarry - Part 24

Three days later, they buried Jon. Lai had chosen a place out by the forest that was near the memorial that had been erected for the original settlement. "So he'll kind of be near your parents," she had told Versa.

The days passed more slowly as life carried on. It had been years since Din had experienced grief like this, a true permanent loss. Even when Grogu had gone with the Jedi, he told himself he'd keep his promise, that he'd see him again one day, and that lessened the blow. But with Jon, it felt like a hole had been punched through the universe, but only the few people within the dwelling seemed to realize it.

Din was astounded at how well Lai and Vee were carrying on, although he suspected a large part of that was that they'd had plenty of time to prepare themselves for the loss. Even so, he'd occasionally hear Lai quietly crying in her room or catch her staring out the window in the kitchen with glossy eyes.

With Vee, he suspected the worst was still yet to come. She'd grown accustomed to her father being out of sight as his body had weakened, confining him to his bedroom, so her daily life seemed moderately unaffected besides her occasionally noting her mother's sadness. Din internally dreaded the first big milestone Vee would hit without her father, a holiday or an accomplishment that would be marked by his absence.

Versa was withdrawn and quiet, moving through the days as if she was on autopilot. She helped where she could, and was cheerful enough with Vee, but at night, Din could see the loss creep back in as she fought to remain in control of her emotions. A few days after the funeral, he'd finally had enough.

"Vers, c'mere."

He was sitting on the bed they shared, all of his armor stripped away. She looked at him and leaned against the opposite wall.

"I'm fine, Din."

"I said come here." His tone was soft but commanding. Versa sighed, pushing off the wall, closing the distance between them. She sat next to him, her hands folded in her lap, not meeting his eyes. Din interlaced their fingers and rested his forehead against hers.

"How can I help? Let me help you. Please."

Her eyes closed as a deep shuddering breath escaped her lips. "I'm not sure you can," she whispered.

Din pressed his palms to the side of her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. He felt desperate to help her, to make her smile again, to take some of the weight she was trying to bear alone. He pulled her head to his chest, and she didn't resist, wrapping her arms around him and burying her nose into his shirt.

They stayed like that for a while, Din clutching her tightly as she rested her head against him until they finally shifted to lie down. Din stroked her hair until Versa fell asleep, and then watched her for several hours, wondering who they both would be when the grief passed.

----

The next morning, Din awoke to shuffling in the room. The sun wasn't up yet, and the soft light of early morning poked in through the window.

"Vers?"

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he rolled over to find her stooped in one corner, her rucksack in her hands and a determined look in her eyes.

"I'm going after him, Din."

His brow crinkled, his mind still foggy from sleep. "Who?"

She sighed. "Farr. He threatened this family, and I promised Jon I'd protect them. He was the reason Jon stopped looking for me." She chewed her lip before meeting his eyes. "I'm going to find him and kill him."

Din sat up, pushing the blankets off of him, searching for the shirt he'd stripped off before falling asleep.

"Vers, let's think this through."